A Tale of Young Aragorn
by Karasumacrow
Summary: A younger Aragorn learns to deal with taunts and accept himself as he is during a battle in Bree. Pre-trilogy


  
  


Disclaimer: I am not trying to break any copyright. I have no money or anything. Seriously.

  
  


This is just a story I wrote a while ago. Please read and review!

  
  


A Tale of Young Aragorn

  
  


It was on the twenty-seventh of April that Aragorn, the one called Strider in Bree, walked down a road to a place called The Prancing Pony. Raised in Rivendell, Aragorn was a fine young lad, just beginning the long and tiresome journeys that would take him to the corners of Middle Earth and would involve him in the War of the Rings, to which he was closely connected. All of this was very far away, though. Right now, the young Ranger's mind was not on powerful rings, orcs, dragons, or dark lords. Aragorn was going into The Prancing Pony, a place where he expected to find trouble of another sort.

When Aragorn entered The Pony, Barliman Butterbur rushed up to him. Barliman was a boy around twelve, a good lad though a little too talkative. The boy helped at the inn that his grandfather owned.

"Hello Strider," Barliman said in a low, conspiratorial voice. "Listen. I saw some dragons out back, trying to break into Bree! Save us, Strider! Save us all!" He snickered.

Annoyed, Aragorn scowled and walked away. Barliman laughed delightedly, knowing that he had gotten under the Ranger's skin. Aragorn, still fuming, ordered a drink. He only drank a little before he stalked out of The Prancing Pony.

When Aragorn was in the shadows of the trees, a figure stepped out to greet him. Aragorn recognized the wizard as Gandalf, his good friend. 

"Aragorn, my friend. A great danger is at hand. You must be ready. Dark times are coming to Bree. Alas that I cannot help you. I am going on a journey, a perilous one, from which I may never return," said Gandalf gravely. Then he turned and began to walk away.

"Wait! Gandalf! What do you mean? Who is it? Will Bree be destroyed? When will this happen?" Aragorn cried.

The wizard's only parting words were, "You must be ready."

Later that day, Aragorn is walking through a forest on the outskirts of Bree. Aragorn is seemingly alone. Suddenly, Aragorn sees a dark shape waving a sword. Gandalf said that a grave danger was at hand, he thinks. Perhaps this is it. Maybe they want to kill me! Yet I must be ready. I must defend Bree. Pulling out his sword, Aragorn yells, "Elendil!" and charges forward. Too late, he sees that it is only a shadow. He runs into a tree and falls, stunned, to the ground. The sons of Elrond Halfelven who dwells in Rivendell are standing over him, laughing. Angrily, Aragorn dusts himself off and stalks away.

Later that night, Aragorn is patrolling the outskirts of Bree, hidden in the shadows, when he sees many dark shapes in the distance, moving toward Bree. Orcs! Gandalf was right! The orcs will attack and Bree will fall to the enemy. Unless Aragorn can stop the orcs. Swift and quiet, Aragorn races into the forest and finds Elladen and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond and other Dunedain. (Rangers.) The allies formed a battle plan and attacked the orcs. Neatly, Aragorn ran toward the nearest orc and drove his sword into it. The orc fell, a lifeless corpse, to the ground. Aragorn stared at it. With his own sword, he had taken a life. True, a servant of the enemy, but the orc was a living breathing being! However, Aragorn knew that if the orcs were allowed to attack Bree and the rest of Middle Earth, they would kill and enslave many good people who also deserved to live. Aragorn killed many more orcs in the fight. The comrades fought bravely and skillfully. At last, after the battle, the battle was won for good! The orcs could not move on and enslave all of Bree! Aragorn is joyful, but also sobered. He has killed orcs. Aragorn knows that in his long life, he will fight many battles, kill many creatures, and travel to many lands to save what is good in Middle Earth.

The next evening, Aragorn again enters The Prancing Pony. Barliman Butterbur runs over, the usual smirk on his youthful face. He does not know that if it were not for Aragorn, orcs would have enslaved Bree and he would be dead or captured.

"Again we meet, Strider. Again, I serve drinks while you, a Ranger, wander around the lonely and dark world without a home or a purpose. Poor Strider!" Barliman says with the tone of fake sympathy.

Aragorn just smiles. For Barliman, in spite of all of his imagined greatness, is very wrong. Aragorn has a greater purpose in life than Barliman knows. His purpose is to prevent evil from destroying all that is good. Yes, Aragorn's purpose is also to save ignorant and simple people from evil and keep them ignorant and simple. Aragorn drinks his drink and leaves, with a small smile on his face.

  
  
  
  



End file.
